Qua Searcy doesn’t usually stand out among the A-backs in Georgia Tech’s practices, according to coach Paul Johnson. But he is, as one former Tech player said, a “football player.”
It’s not that Searcy performs poorly in practice. Searcy is one of a solid group of A-backs. Searcy says he spends practice working on his craft: refining his footwork, improving his blocking and sharpening his route-running, so that when it’s game time, such as Thursday against Clemson, it is just another practice, albeit with tens of thousands of people watching.
Whatever he’s doing is working. Though he doesn’t catch the eye in practice, he is coming up big in games. He was the offensive player of the game after the wins against Boston College, in which he caught three passes for 60 yards, including the key reception on fourth down to preserve the game-winning drive, and Mercer, in which he had seven rushes for 91 yards. He added two catches for 25 yards, drew a pass interference on another play and added two rushes for 12 yards in the 38-7 win over Vanderbilt.
“To this point, there’s some guys that when lights come on they up their play and that’s kind of what he’s done,” Johnson said.
Searcy was going to be an A-back when Tech recruited him out Lamar County High School. But the team didn’t have any slots left at the position, so Searcy was moved to wide receiver. However, after the team lost a few of its defensive backs, Searcy moved there. He said it’s a hard position to learn. When the team began to lose A-backs, Searcy finally moved to the spot where his combination of hands, size (5-11, 174) and speed can be put to the best use in Johnson’s spread-option offense.
“I love the ball in my hands,” Searcy said.
Position coach Lamar Owens said it is surprising that, of the players in his group, Searcy is the one who took home consecutive game balls because he’s not the player Owens would have picked. The group includes Clinton Lynch, who led the A-backs and finished third on the team in rushing last season with 457 yards, and several seniors.
“I think at any given game, with the way our offense is set up, anybody can have a big game,” Owens said before the Vanderbilt game. “It’s interesting Qua has done it two weeks in a row. Hopefully he continues to do that.”
Lynch was the guy against Vanderbilt with three rushes for 77 yards and two receptions for 87 yards and a touchdown. He and Searcy give Tech two weapons at A-back, which will be important against a team as fast as Clemson.
Former Tech A-back Roddy Jones, who was the sideline reporter for Saturday’s win against Vanderbilt, said Searcy is the type of player he envied. Jones said he had to practice hard because he would play like he practiced.
Searcy seems to play better than he practices.
“Some guys have a knack,” Jones said. “It’s kind of something you can’t explain. Typically, people say he’s a really good football player. They won’t wow you with size or speed. But he has a knack. It’s tough to teach. Just guys understand the game enough where they do it without thinking about or how they do it.”
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